Li-Fi technology to provide 100 times faster Internet than Wi-Fi

It conveys information using LED lights that flash on and off in nanoseconds, and is hardly visible to the human eye.

Nov 26, 2015 20:46 IST

Estonian researchers have discovered an alternative technology of Wi-Fi, known as Li-Fi, that can run 100 times faster than average Wi-Fi speeds, allowing users to download a high-definition film in a few seconds.

A company, called "Velmenni", said when it took the Li-Fi technology out of the laboratories and into offices and industries, it was able to achieve the expected speed of 1Gbps, reported IBTimes UK.

Li-Fi conveys information utilising LED lights that flash on and off in nanoseconds, and are hardly visible to the naked human eye. Invented in 2011, it was able to reach tested to be as fast as 224Gbps in the laboratory.

Although Li-Fi's range is theoretically more limited than Wi-Fi because it can't penetrate walls unlike the latter, it is also because of this restriction that Li-Fi is more secure from external sniffing, reported Mashable India.

"We are doing a few pilot projects within different industries where we can utilise the VLC (visible light communication) technology," said Velmenni CEO Deepak Solanki.

IBTimes UK quoted him as saying: "Currently we have designed a smart lighting solution for an industrial environment where the data communication is done through light. We are also doing a pilot project with a private client where we are setting up a Li-Fi network to access the Internet in their office space."

University of Edinburgh professor Harald Hass, who invented the Li-Fi technology, said in future every LED bulb could be used as a superfast alternative to Wi-Fi.

"All we need to do is fit a small microchip to every potential illumination device and this would then combine two basic functionalities: illumination and wireless data transmission," said Haas in a TED talk. "In future, we will not only have 14 billion light bulbs, we may have 14 billion Li-Fis deployed worldwide for a cleaner, greener and even brighter future."

Besides Velmenni, many companies, such as Oledcomm and pureLiFi (established by Haas himself), have already started to bring Li-Fi technology to users.

Both these companies are offering kits to early adopters for installing Li-Fi networks at office and home, reported Mashable India.